The Road to Socialism

It's official--I may have spent too much time in New York City these past few years, because I'm actually beginning to think about things like a New Yorker. For instance, life with our new President Barack Obama is beginning to feel a lot like being in a taxi, stuck in rush hour traffic: You're not crazy about the guy behind the wheel, not only do you not like where you're going (you aretrapped in Manhattan after all), but you can't understand the route he's taking to get you there, and the whole thing is costing you a small fortune. Yes, a cab ride in the big city is like being on The Road to Socialism.

And it's not just any industries I'm talking about here. If Obama wanted to rush in to "save" the ice cream cone industry, I could probably learn to live with that. As much as I'd hate to have the low quality government cones, I think we'd all live happy, normal and productive lives if we were forced to eat our ice cream with spoons out of little bowls.

But when the government has its dirty little fingers on vital elements of our economy, it has its hands around the throat of capitalism itself...and it's squeezing hard.

Think of the housing bailout. A part of that plan(the TV show "Lost" is more rooted in reality) is President Obama giving homeowners an "incentive payment" of $1,500 if they remain current through their loan modification (translation: a handout just for doing what you've previously agreed to do). They also qualify for a bonus of $1,000 a year for five years if they keep up with payments. That's a $6,500 perk for people to stay in homes they already can't afford! And by the way--do you have a five-year mortgage? Me neither. Most of us have 30 year mortgages, so this is an awfully expensive band-aid on a problem that we'll only have to rip off in five years --and you know how painful that can be. Plus, for good measure we've allowed people to remain under the delusion that they can and deserve to stay in homes they never should have been able to buy in the first place. It's so insane, I'd actually laugh if I wasn't so busy crying.

There are lots of concrete, real world and immediate dangers to what's happening in Washington right now. But what also worries me is how this "philosophy" being encouraged by Washington will affect our future --our children. The message they're sending will have long-term ramifications, some of which are already being felt. Some communities are considering offering "incentives" to families like a payment of $50 to get their kids a library card. And a recent study shows that nearly one third of all students believe they deserve a B just for showing up to class and if they do the work--regardless of the quality or its correctness--they deserve an A! Whether President Obama likes it or not, it's a cruel world out there and there are still places (though not in Washington or Wall Street) where performance and results matter.

Kids who read, perform better. There's the "incentive" for getting them a library card. And success in school requires more than just showing up-in real life, there are no As for effort. We do no one a favor--neither our children nor our ownfuture--by believing anything else.

Yup, we're on The Road to Socialism, and while we may have not yet reached our final destination, we're well on our way. And just like that New York City taxi, the meter's running. I wonder how high will we let it get before we tell this driver to pull over?